How to Make Soup without a Recipe

One of my favorite parts of Sundays is trying a new soup recipe. A big pot of warm, filling soup has become a staple during the cold Indiana winter. It’s such an easy meal to divide up and transport to work, plus it can be easily frozen for the future. After making soup over and over again, I began to pick up the patterns in recipes and realized there’s a way to make soup from literally anything – without a recipe.

Ingredient-wise, you probably already have a handful of these items in your pantry, refrigerator or freezer. If not, stock up on some of the nonperishable items if you see them on sale at the store so you can whip up a soup without needing to go to the store.

The “Not-Recipe” Step

Brown your meat.

Cooking the meat first in your big pot or Dutch oven will help coat the bottom of the pan in flavor to build upon with all the other veggies. Once the meat is browned – but not cooked all the way through – remove from the pan. We’ll put it back in later!

Sauté your veggies.

Once you’ve taken the meat out of the pan, it’s time to sauté your aromatic veggies in what the meat left over. Add a drizzle more of olive oil and then add your onions, celery, carrots, peppers, etc. Wait to add the garlic (if you’re using it) until the veggies are soft and almost done cooking. If you add the garlic too soon, it will burn, so it’s best to save it for the last minute or so!

Add everything else.

Once the veggies are soft, add the meat back in, add any drained and rinsed beans, corn, potatoes, canned tomatoes, and at least four cups or either stock, broth or water. If you’re going to add rice, quinoa or pasta, be sure to add at least an extra cup or two of water to compensate for the liquid the grains are going to absorb.

Bring up to a boil.

Bring the pot up to a boil and let it sit for two or three minutes. This will cook the rest of the meat, the beans and other veggies.

Simmer for 20 minutes.

Turn the heat down to low and simmer for at least 20 minutes. You can keep it on low for longer and it will continue to help marry all the flavors of the soup together. With all soup, it only gets better with time! If you’re going to add greens like kale, spinach or rainbow chard, add them at the last five minutes or so, so they will stay fresh, but cook gently.

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Hey there! I'm Gabriela Rodiles, also known as Gourmet Gab. I write about simple, healthy recipes and love making cooking videos. You can watch me on Food Network Snapchat Discover. I am always cooking behind-the-scenes on my Snapchat and Instagram, so give it a follow below. Thanks for coming by! Read More…